(Newser)
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It's not Mexico, but rather the unlikely locale of Wyoming where feds are telling people not to drink the water. The EPA yesterday warned against using the water from 40 wells in the Pavillion area, including 17 contaminated by hydrocarbons—thought to be possibly related to oil and gas drilling from the 1960s through the present day.

But the Department of Health and Human Services says high levels of sodium, sulfates, and other inorganic materials unrelated to drilling are reason enough not to drink the water in a total of 40 wells tested since last year. About 100 people attended a public meeting on the findings.

This contamination has nothing to do with deregulation. This contamination came specifically from oil well drilling in the 1960's and 1970's that used to be done under no regulation. When the oil wells dried up in those wells, the damage was done because there was never any regulation to case the well boring, which meant oil that came up from the ground came up through dirt wells, rather than through a cement lined casing which would prevent contamination into aquifers. Aside from this problem, the local and federal regulators ignored these areas where remediation was needed to prevent further contamination for 30 years, because they got to collect more money in fines that way. The town of Pavillion is about 100 people small, and they have been aware that there water tastes like rocket fuel anyway for about 20 years. This is the same problem that the old town of Midwest, Wyoming had, until the town unincorporated because of the unrecoverable aquifers damaged in the 60's and 70's. When it's unrecoverable, the town needs to unincorporate and people have to move. Don't blame the current energy producers for this mess, it happened a long time ago when there was no regulation.

Fondue

Sep 1, 2010 9:50 AM CDT

Let's hear it for deregulation! Hello? Let's hear it for deregulation?